Good Start Formula - Los Angeles, CA

R.,
It's August 20 - you have a good, solid six weeks to pump and store your milk. Choose four to five times a day - after you've nursed your baby - and pump for an additional 10 minutes (if you are double pumping) and 20 if you are doing each breast seperately (10 and 10). Even if you get two ounces out at each pumping, you can combine them and make one bottle at the end of the day - it can be frozen and used later. Try to pump around the same times everyday; that will send a message to your brain to produce more milk at those times - it may take a few days, but your body will kick in.
You could also pump at work - if it's available to you. If you work for a company that has more than, I think, 22 employees, they must provide you with a location and the time, to pump. I once had a flight attendant in my breastfeeding class - and she would lock herself in the little bathroom's and pump - all while on a cross-country flight.
You go girl.
J.

2 moms found this helpful

Why do formula? If your baby will be 10 months by the time you go to work do rice milk or goats milk. In two months your baby will be able to have milk. Rice milk or goats milk is actually easier on their little tummies and are great! I did that with my son if i needed to supplement. What about pumping a supply for the next two months. Just an idea.
Great job for BF for this long! :) Have a good evening. and GL

1 mom found this helpful

If your baby is already 10 months then you really don't have that much longer to go with the breastmilk. You've done a great job of keeping up the breastfeeding so far, why not pump until your baby's 12 months and can go to cow's milk? I started pumping between feedings while I was still at home and stocked my freezer in preparation for my return to work. Then I'd pump at work and bring it home with me every night. My son would have the fresh (from day before) or defrosted breastmilk while I was at work during the day, then I'd breastfeed him at night and in the mornings. I never had to buy expensive formula! You should try it. Keep up the good work!

1 mom found this helpful

Start pumping & freezing your breast milk now. Why give chemical made formula to a child?

1 mom found this helpful

Hi R.....I used Good Start with my daughter, even switched back and forth to the walmart brand Parents Choice with no problem, She is now a very healthy 4 year old who will start preschool on the 1st....beware....breastfed babies are hard to get to take the bottle and formula...my son never did take a bottle unless he was at Grans and I wasn't there!!!! I wish you the best of luck!!!

My 8 month old is almost exclusively breastfed, except for supplementing with some formula during the day while I'm at work. The Good Start seems to be fine. In fact, I find it has a less toxic, plastic smell than the Enfamil. As some other mamas said, your son will be 10 months so you don't have long to go before real milk. Can you pump and freeze enough to get you through? If I could have made it that long without giving formula I would have been thrilled!

Hi, I too am a mom of three. 11, 6, and 9mts. all three were breastfeed and also given Good Start and loved it. I often reccomend to family and friends. I must admit that on this third time I have given my baby different formula. Something I never did with my first two. I didn't even take advantage of using up all the samples I had received. But after speaking to many friends that are Peds. We all agree that most milk based formulas contain the same and may vary in color,taste, or smell. The real difference is in price. I also mixed breastmilk with formula to introduce.

Just a question, but have you thought about pumping? It's really not that bad and it's free! I did it for eight months after I went back to work after my son was born. It's a bit of pain, but you get a system. Your baby will be weaning to more food and less milk soon anyway...

Hi
My experience with Good Start was that my daughter liked and took it without a problem, but had HUGE dirty diapers from it. I mean, seriously, a LOT came out of her as waste. Also, frequently it was several times a day. I felt that if there was so much being sent out of her system as waste, than there was too much extra stuff going into her body. We switched to the Kirkland Signature formula at Costco, which is equivalent to the Enfamil (which my son used and never had a problem with) and never had any problems with it. She liked it, took it well, had acceptable waste product, and the nice bit was that it was cheaper than the other formulas.

Good Luck!

I used the purple can Good Start. It worked very good and my son didn't have a lot of the gas issues that come with other formulas.

Hi R.,

My daughter had lots of problems with various formulas until I started her on Good Start. I would recommend it to everyone. I will still be breastfeeding when I go back to work in two weeks but will suppliment with the formula.

I recommend introducing slowly. Give your baby just two ounces a day for seven days then go to four for the next week and increase weekly until you are at the amount your baby eats at feedings. I found this the easiest on my baby's system. I hope it works for you.

Good luck!

I love this Formula! I tried them all, this was the one with less iron so my baby had less gas and spitting up.

I, and a couple of the other moms on our street, called it "Good Fart." Seems like the kids had a lot of gas with it. It seemed to have a better taste than some, though.
We used the Costco brand of formula for our three babies, which has the same exact ingredients, and amounts, as Enfimil or Similac.

i used that formula and it worked really well for us. i also breastfed exclusively... good luck!

Hi R.,

I have used Good Start with 2 of my 3 kids (my older daughter was breast fed only). Good Start was GREAT! The formula itself is broken down some kind of way to where it is very easily digested. My son (who is my oldest) had started on ProSobee, which is a soy based formula and suffered with horrible gas problems- but as soon as we switched him to Good Start he was fine! What does your Pediatrition think? Also, if you go onto their website you can sign up with them and you'll get a monthly magazine which has coupons for the formula in it (the first few are for something like $8.00 each). I highly recommend Good Start!!!!

K.

yes, I used good start for my son from the age of 4 months until a little over a year. I loved it. If you sign up at Nestle's website they will send you coupons, which really do come in handy. My son had a bad reaction to Similac, so the Dr. recommended Good Start.
Thanks
Jen

I was using Similac with my first child and he was getting constipated. My Dr. recommended Good Start and it was great...much more gentle on his stomach and no more constipation. I stuck with Good Start with my second child and again, no problems. I would definitely recommend it.

Hi R.,
my experience is also a very good one with 'Good Start'. This formula throws less bubbles, hence it is less gassy for your child. It seems also to taste better than others. We tried others, but were very quickly convinced in using Good Start.
Good luck

My kids did not like Good Start. I tried because it looked better/cost less, but neither liked the taste. I'd recommend going onto each brand of formula's website and ask for a free sample. Try out each and see what your baby takes to best. My eldest liked Isomil my youngest Similac. Please talk to your doctor before giving your child rice or goat's milk.

Blessings!
N.

i bf'ed for 27 months but also used Good Start comfort protein formula..i've read it's the closest to breast milk u can get w/ formula...i've also heard that about goat's milk.
it was a good formula..no problems for us with it.

I used it with all three of my kids. For some reason (maybe the comfort proteins) it worked best for them. I tried all different kinds and always went back to Good Start. My pediatrician even recommended it. I would highly recommend it, and sign up on their website so you can get good coupons, it helps.

when i was transitioning my first born to formula, i used Nestle Good Start also. My son was breast fed exclusively until about 7 months and then i began to mix 1/2 breastmilk and 1/2 formula. it was the only formula that he would drink. i tried all the others, the didn't like them at all. the Good Start wasn't gassy and he didn't spit up as much as with the others. with my second child, i am going to do the same when he's ready to transition. i have never had a bad experience with Good Start and it was the only formula that worked with my son. Try it.

My son was supplemented with good start from 10-12 months. We had good success with it and I would definitely recommend it!

R. - I used Good Start for both of my boys....I breast feed exclusivly as well.....and the good start in my opinion was a great transition! I did try the enfamil with my 3yr old but felt it was so much thinker than the good start....I had good luck with it!

Hello! I had to supplement from the very beginning with boy of my boys because I never produced enough milk :( so I have tried many formulas. I gave them whichever was on sale and they were always fine. My favorite came to be the Costco brand (Kirkland) because I could get 2- 25 oz cans for $19.99 with DHA and ARA. If you for sure want to do Good Start it was fine for both of my boys when I used it. :) If I couldn't make it to Costco I sometimes buy Parent's Choice with DHA and ARA for like $13 a can for 25 oz. Good luck! :)

I also breastfed my son. Around 11 months he started to wean himself from the afternoon feeding. He was just "too busy" and I couldn't get him to latch on. I started using Good Start Natural Cultures. It includes probiotics. He has a condition that makes him prone to constipation, but this formula worked well for him. Good luck!

Hi R., Several of my daycare babies have used good start formula, and did very well with it. J.

Hi R.,
I have a 7 year old and a 1 year old, both grew up on this formula. To me, it is lighter on their tummies than the other brands, the other brands were thicker and heavier. My one year old had acid reflex so this formula was awesome for her little tummy. It worked great for the both of them, plus it's cheepier than the rest. Two thumbs up ;0)

I had an awesome pediatrician when I lived in Utah. He said for me to use Good Start formula when the child has been breastfed because the proteins in Good Start are easier to digest. It didn't make my baby constipated like all the other formulas. I loved Good Start.

Raised both my babies on Good Start after breastfeeding. Great.

Wendy

Good Start was the only formula my son would drink and he was lactose intolerant. I had to supplement after about eight months because I could not keep up with the demand by pumping at work. He transitioned to Good Start 2 after he turned one until he was able to drink milk. It was great for him and affordable for us.

If you are not at work yet though, why not pump now, stock up and use that supply as your supplement until your baby turns one and can drink milk?

Sounds like lots of people like this formula, so that's good! I do think that the post from Anne M is something to think about. If pumping is an option for you, you only have a few months to go. I pumped at work for about 4 months and it worked great (I now stay at home with my little one). Only you know your work situation though, so if pumping isn't an option, then the formula will work just fine. I did just want to encourage you that pumping is not difficult and worked really well for me. Best of luck to you whatever you decide!

I used earth best organic which you can buy online or at whole foods, i just really liked that it was organic. I know it doesn't answer your question but thought I'd throw that out there for you.

I didn't have enough milk so I supplemented with Good Start and found it to be the best because the proteins they use are easier for babies to digest.

I used nestle good start supreme for my son who is now 4. It worked wonders for his digestive problems but when I tried it for my daughter she was always fussy so I switched to similac advanced and now she's fine. So I think it just depends on the child.

I have heard that this baby formula is one of the best out there. I had trouble with finding the right formula for my gassy baby. No one ever told me how gentle Good start was, so I never tried it. I would go with this one.
Good luck going back to work!

My Pediatrician told me that Good Start is like giving your child Carnation instant breakfast. The reason that is the least expensive of formulas is because they are always changing the companies that they get their ingredients from and that can cause allergies in your child. I don't personnaly have any experience with it, I just remember my Ped. telling me about it. If you can start to pump now and get enough to supplement with frozen, that would be ideal!

Good luck!

I started Nestle Good Start Supreme for my daughter when she was about 9 months old as a supplement. She transitioned to it real easily. We loved it.